The Theology of Chastity

What follows is the text
of a presentation I gave on the theme of Chastity. I was part
of a team presenting material on the subject. My task was to look
at what the Bible and the Church teaches about it. Note that this
presentation is from a Catholic perspective.

The Theology of Chastity

I'm going to talk about "The Theology of Chastity";
what the Bible and the church teaches about chastity. My first point
is that Chastity is more than just not having sex outside of marriage -
it's an attitude, an approach to life, a commitment to live right before
God, according to His standards, and not the standards of the rest of the
world.

My second point is this: how do we
tell the difference between right and wrong? If we're standing up
here saying "Chastity is right" and "living unchastely is wrong", how can
we be sure that what we're saying is the truth? I've asked some of
my non-Christian friends that question, because without God, I'm sure it
gets pretty hard. One time I had this discussion with a friend of
mine. We were talking about ethics, and how I thought some things
were wrong that he thought were OK (like he admired chastity but didn't
necessarily think it should apply to everyone), so I asked him, "How do
you tell the difference between right and wrong?" and he said "By my feelings,
by the way I feel about it" (I've found that that's pretty much what most
people say in this situation). So I said "What if there's a mass
murderer who goes around killing people with an axe because he feels that
that is OK. Do his feelings mean that it's all right?" and my friend
said "OK, right and wrong is defined by society, by what's socially acceptable."
I said "What if you have a society of cannibals that eats babies?
If they all do it, does that make it right?" Then he didn't say anything
for a while, and ended up mumbling something about having some sort of
ethical standards, like the Ten Commandments. And I thought "Hey,
I don't often win arguments against this guy." Because that was my
whole point: if God doesn't make the rules, who does? And it
figures that God's rules are going to be a whole lot better than ours.
So when it comes to things like relationships, or sex, or these other moral
decisions that we have to make, should we go by what "feels good", or should
we go by the Eternal Word of God?

As far as chastity goes, God's word has quite
a lot to say. For a start, as I'm sure my friend was aware, chastity
is one of the Ten Commandments: "You shall not commit adultery".
That's pretty clear, and even more so when we realise that adultery here
means any sex outside of marriage. But again, chastity is more than
just that; it is a lifestyle. When Scripture talks about chastity,
it doesn't just say to be chaste in your sex-life, but to be chaste in
the way you look at others, to be chaste in your heart and mind, and to
be chaste in your speech.

As far as looking goes, Jesus told us not
to even look on another person with lust, because then we're committing
adultery in our heart. Another example of this is Job, who made a
covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.

We're also told to be chaste in our hearts,
like in Proverbs where it talks about the "immoral woman": "Do not
lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes".
(Actually, when you look at these quotes, chastity does seem to be more
of a struggle for men, doesn't it?) Jesus also said "Out of
the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft,
false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'".

And we are commanded to be chaste in our
speech, as in Ephesians where Paul says: "But among you there
must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity,
or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor
should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out
of place, but rather thanksgiving." It seems to me that for a lot
of people these days, obscenity, foolish talk and coarse joking are just
about the only way they know how to communicate.

But anyway, why does the Bible give us all
this advice? God's view of sexual immorality is pretty clear.
In Ephesians, it says: "For of this you can be sure: No immoral,
impure or greedy person-such a man is an idolater-has any inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and of God."

To make the point more clearly, there are
a couple of other good quotes. From Corinthians: "Neither the
sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers
nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." [For that is what you used
to be...] And from Galatians: "The acts of the sinful nature
are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I
did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom
of God."

So that's reasonably serious. The commands
are reinforced throughout scripture: "Do not commit adultery";
"Abstain from ... sexual immorality"; "Flee from sexual immorality";
"We should not commit sexual immorality" and so on. Chastity
is a precept, a rule or command that is obviously very important to God,
and what's important to God should be important to us.

Behind this concept of Chastity are at least
three principles: the principles of love, of faithfulness, and of
purity. And these principles are based on the character and nature
of God: God is love; God is faithful; and God is pure.

Pope Paul VI wrote a letter about a lot of
this stuff. It was called Humanae Vitae. This letter talks
a lot about love, particularly conjugal love, between a man and a wife,
because that's what chastity is all about. That's what chastity prepares
us for and helps us to live out properly: a husband and a wife and
total love. The Pope talked about the characteristics of this sort
of love: it is fully human, so there is a spiritual side to it as
well as an emotional and physical dimension; it is total, so everything
is shared, and selfishness has no place; it is faithful until death;
and it is fruitful, because that love can be perpetuated and demonstrated
through children.

All this is tied to chastity, because as
the Church teaches, "Chastity is the spiritual power which frees love from
selfishness and aggression. To the degree that a person weakens chastity,
his or her love becomes more and more selfish, that is, satisfying a desire
for pleasure and no longer self-giving."

So chastity is self-giving, and to quote
from the Catechism: "Chastity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery
which is a training in human freedom." And this is a good bit:
"The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds
peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy."
Humanae Vitae talks about how Christians in marriage are called to live
this self-giving in a right personal relationship with God. Pope
John Paul II has said that "At the centre of the spirituality of marriage
... lies chastity, not only as a moral virtue (formed by love), but likewise
as a virtue connected with the gifts of the Holy Spirit."

In other words, in order to live chastely,
we need the continuous help of the Holy Spirit, who works to make us like
Christ, with His attitudes and His love. And God calls us to be like
this; in Thessalonians it says: "It is God's will that you
should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each
of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,
not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God." The
key point here is the first statement - "It is God's will that you should
be sanctified" because, as Paul goes on to say: "For God did
not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he
who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you
his Holy Spirit."

God is calling us to take on His nature,
the nature of Christ, and the Holy Spirit works in us to do this.
But impurity is incompatible with the Holy Spirit. To be pure requires
repentance and a constant effort to live the life of Christ. It's
not always easy. God's standards are so much more demanding.
But they are infinitely more rewarding. We might think be tempted
to think that it is a hard thing, to live a chaste life, especially when
we look at the world around us. But that is not where we are supposed
to look. We are supposed to look at Christ, and as long as we're
doing that, we are exactly where He wants us to be.

- Dean Mischewski

Scripture References

Chastity Commanded:

"You shall not commit adultery"- Exodus 20:14

''You have heard that it was said,
'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:27-28

Chastity in the way we look at others:

''I made a covenant with my eyes not to
look lustfully at a girl." - Job 31.1

Chastity in our hearts:

"... keep thee from the evil woman, from
the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her
beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids." - Proverbs 6: 24-25 (KJV)

Church Teaching:

"Chastity is the spiritual power which frees
love from selfishness and aggression." - The Truth and Meaning of Human
Sexuality

"parents should be aware ... that sexual
giving should also be lived out in respect for God and for his plan of
love, with fidelity, honour and generosity towards one's spouse and toward
the life which can arise from their act of love. Only in this way
can their love be an expression of charity"- The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality

"At the center of the spirituality of marriage
... lies chastity, not only as a moral virtue (formed by love), but likewise
as a virtue connected with the gifts of the Holy Spirit."- Pope John Paul II, L'Osservatore Romano,
Nov 19th, 1994

"Chastity includes an apprenticeship in
self-mastery ... either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he
lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy."- Catechism of the Catholic Church

Conclusion - God's Will:

"It is God's will that you should
be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you
should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,
not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God."- 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

"For God did not call us to be impure, but
to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does
not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit." - 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8

If you have
questions or comments about material on this site, or if you come across
any broken links, feel free to email me. My address is:
"mischedj - at - paradise - dot - net - dot - nz".
(I've written it like that to avoid spam robots)